KFP Next Gen Finale (Part 2 of 3): Nation of Evil
by jweaks2016
Summary: After the murder of three of their students, the Jade Palace masters have backed off on their search to capture the villainous Overlord. But when an ex assassin and a rogue Jade Palace pupil take the battle to him, the leader of China's criminals will put his plan in motion, threatening the lives of not only the new heroes of the Valley of Peace, but the nation of China itself.
1. Things Change

**One year later. Wow. Can you believe that? Well…probably. Just an answer to everyone who asked, no, I won't be doing a decoy thing. Lupa, Lily and Zan are dead. Like, dead dead. But the only glimmer of hope for them will depend on what ending you choose at the end of the finale ;) . Yep, two different endings that you get to choose from. But I don't wanna give away too much now, do I? You're here for the first chapter. Well, as usual, the first chapter will be a recap of everything important that has happened so far. But since that's been narrowed down a lot since a lot happened in the first part of the finale, unlike the past stories in this series, it will not solely be a recap chapter. After everything has been sorted through, some new material will start.**

 **AND NOW, OUR FEATURE PRESENTATION!**

 **(P.S. I also like the timing of this since this chapter will release one day after the new KFP movie. All aboard the hype train! Toot toot!)**

*Previously on KFP Next Gen*

With that, Kiro closed his eyes, and after thirty more seconds of agony, the white tiger master slipped away.

Dega collapsed to his knees in awe while Mei Ling and Lupa began to cry. Viper had tears welling up in her eyes, and Po, Tigress, Crane, Mantis, and all of the other students bowed their heads in respect.

Their master, their friend, and their brother, was gone.

Kiro was dead.

* * *

"This guy seems to know almost everything about us, our moves, our fighting styles, our weaknesses, and we know almost nothing about him or his team," Skyler said.

"Not necessarily," Dega muttered. "A little while back, Catherine came by again asking for help from us to free her parents. In the briefing she gave us, we did, in fact, find out that Overlord is an actual person and not a ghost, Xin is indeed a pawn for Overlord and the son of Tai Lung, Zina works for Overlord also, of which we already know, and there's a guy named Jaguar X who can see in the future and summon portals on command."

* * *

"Hey guys! I think I found something!" The avian called. "It looks to be…orange paint?"

"Orange paint?" Lupa repeated, walking over to where the bird was along with Lily. "Nothing in this room has even a tinge of orange in it. Why would the Fox brothers need orange paint in here?"

"They wouldn't, unless they didn't originally have it. Maybe one of Overlord's men forgot to take this with them," Lily theorized.

* * *

"I mean come on! Think it through, man!" Xin sighed. "I could run this show better than you!"

"Tread carefully. I'm finding you tedious, and people like you are expendable," The figure in black barked.

"I'm allowed to speak my mind aren't I? Or is that too harsh for you to take?" The snow leopard sneered.

Overlord growled and chucked the throwing star at Xin. A sickening thwack echoed throughout the building as the weapon collided with Xin's skull, and the leopard sank down in the chair, dead. A trail of blood began to stream down his face, and it slid down the left side of his nose and stopped at his mouth.

* * *

"Well, come on. Spill it," The young panda pried.

"Fine," Zina stated with a glare. "I'll start from the beginning. After Jow was killed and Japan was sent into a new age under the rule of his wife, I went underground. I became an assassin for hire and made my living that way for many years, living off rations most of the time and sleeping with the homeless. I came across Overlord one day, who instead of offering me money for a kill, offered me a better life here, along with revenge against your parents. That last part is what hooked me. I wanted vengeance against the Dragon Warrior and my cousins, Tigress and Kiro."

"You're a horrible aunt," Dega stated.

"Yes, yes. I suppose, from your perspective, I am. I did try to murder your family after all. Anyway, I signed on to be a part of Overlord's gang. He has connections all over China. With a little bit of money, minds sway. He keeps all entries in a small book. Where, I don't know. What names are in there as well, I have no clue. Resources and supplies are being shipped in from foreign countries through the black market. As for Xin, you already know why he signed on as well as what happens when you don't do as Overlord says. Jaguar X is puzzling. He and Overlord have some sort of bond, because I was the first one recruited, and X was with Overlord when they came to me. That jaguar has been there longer than I have," Zina explained, looking around at the heroes. "I'm telling the truth. The identity and species of Overlord? I don't know that. He always keeps his face wrapped up in a cloth, and only shows it to Jaguar X. It's like they're brothers or something."

"What about the bombs from Gongmen?" Tang asked. "I wanna see if I'm right about this."

"Number one bomb-making city in China. Shen revolutionized that industry, creating benefits for the Chinese army as well as those looking to make a quick yuan with anyone. Saves money and time," The villain stated.

"Yeah. I was right," The panda sighed. "Any idea why Sin lied about his age?"

Zina fell quiet. "I've said enough. Do what you want with that information."

* * *

"Hm." The tiger lion said, nodding his head. "Do you want to start redeeming yourself? Quit being a bad guy?"

Zina walked over to the son of Kiro and knelt down before him. "I may not be good or even close to that, but I've made my mistakes and bad choices when I dealt with your father. The only thing I can do for an apology is to make sure his two children stay safe. Whether you like it or not, I have a debt I need to pay, and I'll be watching over you two now."

Dega looked up at Zina and blinked a few times. "Okay then. Wasn't expecting this to go in that direction. I figured it'd be you and I talking and then fighting it out, probably ending up with you escaping and me either dead or defeated."

* * *

"Are you always gonna do this? You could just knock!" Dega whispered, turning to face his aunt.

"And get spotted by the other students and masters so they attack me and capture me again? I think not," The Japanese soldier replied. "Listen, while you and your band of misfits—"

"—Friends."

"—Whatever. While you all are continuing to investigate Overlord, you're overlooking the big picture. Overlord has hired mercenaries all over China and has stooges in the political field. Once this goes down, and if you fail to stop him, his army will bring the hammer down on you and the higher powers will tear you apart, making you look like the villains."

Dega sighed and leaned back against a wall. "Well, I always like a challenge."

"You're friends are in danger. Now that you are closer to figuring out Overlord's identity than ever, he will start lashing out sporadically. I'm obliged to protect you and, discretely, your sister, but I can't protect all of you and your friends. That's up to you all. I suggest you tread carefully."

* * *

Tang nodded and walked out of the palace. Fifteen minutes later, he was walking through the streets of the valley, heading towards the farm. Dodging the calls and commands from different shops and cart owners to buy their product, the young panda was able to make his way to the farm in no time. The familiar Overlord symbol was still on the door, untouched from when Kai met his fate. Walking up to the small cabin, the panda pushed the door open and began to walk inside.

"Hey guys! The masters want us back at th—"

Tang stopped himself abruptly when he saw Lupa, pinned to the far end of the wall by two swords, sticking out of her chest. She hung to the wall with a surprised expression, but did not move. She was dead.

"Lupa…" Tang whispered, wide eyed. "ZAN! LILY!"

His eyes adjusted to the darkness. It was then he saw the snake markings written all over the walls. Not one piece of wood was bare from the symbol of death. In the far corner of the shack where all the tools were kept, Lily lay in a lifeless heap with an arrow sticking out from the top of her head.

As Tang walked into the room, shaking with every step, he felt a drop on his head, and then another. Stepping out of the way, he looked up to see Zan, lying dead at the top of the rafters with a sword through his chest. His wing dangled over the side as blood dripped off of the tips of his feathers.

* * *

"Take that as a 'no,' I guess. Well, Sage would have been quite successful in his taking over China had it not been for the assistance of Kiro Takimuro, who also killed my Uncle Feng; well, not really an uncle but he was like family. Anyway, the two major players in bringing down my stepfather were him and your father, Po. After your father launched mine into the mountain side, I had the pleasure of watching his obliterated body fall to the ground mere feet from me, where I was hiding and watching the battle. After I was done crying, I had the unimaginable privilege of watching as this previous generation of masters cheered at the death of someone I cared for," Overlord explained. "This isn't really about taking over China or power or money…whatever radical ideas have popped into your head. This is about legacy."

"You killed so many people. Your own mother, Mr. Ping, Monkey, Kiro, Xin, Kai and Sin…" Tang growled. "All of that is about vengeance?"

The figure in black chuckled and shook his head. "After all of the clues that I let you find, you still haven't figured it out? Really? I've let you gather pieces, bit by bit of my past all the way to the point of where you could figure it out if you just opened your eyes, but my identity still eludes you! All of this chasing has given me more than enough time to prepare myself for total domination! I've blocked you at every turn, leading you to where I wanted you to go. This is a one-way maze that you believe is open and free to roam around! Did you honestly think that if I didn't want you to find something that you'd find it anyway?"

The panda slowly stood straight up with clenched fists. "Who are you?"

"I…dear and naïve Tang Ping…" Overlord stated, removing his mask and black cloth that covered his face. "…am an old friend."

Tang widened his eyes and snarled in anger and confusion. He didn't know if his eyes were playing tricks on him or if he was losing his mind. "YOU! YOU DIED!"

Kai smiled and shook his head again. "I was surprised how easy it was to fool you all. Kill a fox that looks like me and paint him orange. Really? That bucket of orange paint didn't tip you off? You're dumber than I thought."

"You killed your brother and betrayed us all! We were your friends!" The student roared. "Lupa had a thing for you!"

"Yes. Killing her was…quite painful for me. However, since Sin and I are close to the same age, I would be too old for any of the likes of you."

The son of the Dragon Warrior suddenly pieced all of the clues that had been missing together. "In order to set your major plan into motion, you had to fake your own death. The reason why Sin hid his identity that he was older than he said was so that you could use him to get information on us!"

"Yes. Obviously, he didn't know who I really was and objected to lying about our age, but I convinced him that 'we needed younger friends' because we were so secluded from society, and that eventually made him agree with me. My true intentions were concealed," Kai replied. "Any other questions or comments?"

The villain got off the wall and began to walk towards the panda with confidence. I smirk was plastered on his face as he reveled in the fact that he had outsmarted a bunch of Kung-Fu masters and that he had totally caught them off guard.

"Don't fret, Tang, I won't kill you. You're just too much fun to watch!" The orange fox added. "I mean, yes, I want your father dead, and I almost met that goal before your lightening friend brought me down and almost unmasked me. Jaguar X, my other brother teleported me out of there before you could unmask me. And yes, if you are wondering, X was Sage's boy and they both adopted another kid; a tiger; his name is Chao."

Tang recalled the tiger guard back at the royal palace. He had brought up something about a traitor ordeal going on there and had acted quite odd up until their leaving. Looking back, it made sense that he was the culprit, but brothers?

* * *

*Two months later*

Things had changed since the deaths of Lupa, Zan and Lily, and not for the better. The heroes and masters agreed not to hold a public funeral so that citizens of the valley didn't lose any more morale than they already had. The students had been buried in the courtyard near the entrance of the palace.

When Mei Ling's cry echoed out when she came upon the gruesome scene in the old tool shack, the masters were distracted just long enough for Zina to throw down some smoke bombs and escape. She hadn't been heard from since, and Dega had been fiercely questioned as to why he had been working with her to find Overload, or Kai as they now referred to him as since they now knew who Overlord was.

About a week later, one night, Dega had went to his room to meditate and calm himself down. His joking and happy attitude he put on in front of his friends masked his anger and frustration he had, and meditating was a temporary solution to control this. His friends knew better, though. They could see right through him, but decided to not bring it up. His father, sister and girlfriend had been taken out in a relatively short period of time. They understood his feelings.

Max shared a room with the tiger lion, and so when he went to go get a clean shirt so he could go out and wander around in the valley, he knew he had to be careful around his friend when he entered. However, when he opened the door to the room, Dega's draws were opened and cleaned out. The window was open and the student was nowhere to be found. He left a note saying that he was fine, but needed to continue the search on his own at the moment with the help of his ex-evil aunt, Zina. The masters still didn't believe his story of her changing sides, so instead of telling everyone his plan, he just left. They searched for him, but came up with nothing.

Po sighed as he looked in the reflecting pool. He knew that this wasn't his fault, but he realized if he hadn't killed Sage all those years ago instead of arresting him, things might have turned out better than now. It bugged him that the other masters and him were playing keep-up with this villain. The panda knew Kai had connections in every major city, and probably had spies and moles inside the army and kung-fu palaces, but the fox's plan was moving rapidly towards its inaction, so the time to uncover all of these operatives was nonexistent.

The only dent they had put in Overlord's plot was the confirmation of Chao as the traitor in the Emperor's royal palace. The other guard had been released and after a hard interrogation turned up with nothing, the officer had been sentenced to execution a week from yesterday. Po knew that Kai wouldn't allow his step-brother to be killed, though. The tiger would be broken out no matter how tight security was.

The Dragon Warrior shook his head.

* * *

*With the students*

The students had their own little groups that they had been a part of. Max, Musaki, Summer, Arizona and Sierra were all one group, though they had no official name for themselves, unlike the Elemental Hazards. The Hazards were made up of Takami, Ryo, Skyler, Kiba, Kovu, Hope, Faith, Kaizer and Kidduo, though most called him Kidd. Then there was Tang. Just Tang. It used to be him, Dega, Lupa, Zan and Lily, but three were gone and one was missing, so it was just him. Because of this, the others tried to include him in on more things, which was nice, but didn't fill the empty spaces next to him where his friends once stood.

The masters had the same issue. Tigress' brother and niece were dead and her nephew had vanished. Mei Ling had no husband or kids with her anymore. Crane and Lily were without their children as well. Po was lucky, if you called it that. His wife and kid were still with him, but that was little consolation considering all that had happened. On top of all this, they had lost Master Monkey not too long ago due to a bomb one of Overlord's minions planted.

"So…how 'bout that weather we're having?" Kiba asked the group, breaking the silence and receiving a bean bun to the nose from Summer.

"That's the most generic and boring conversation starter I've ever heard," The female panda groaned. "Aren't you supposed to be the funny one of your team?"

"Yeah. Supposedly," Ryo stated with a snort, rolling his eyes.

"I actually never thought any of his jokes were funny," Kaizer added.

Tang chuckled. "The one-two punch. You're down for the count."

Kiba sighed and shifted his gaze over to Kaizer before smirking. "I'm sorry, Spooky. If you think you're funnier than I am, the let's hear a joke."

"You're fighting abilities," Came the deadpan reply, followed by a roar of laughter from the others.

They had already done their training for the day, so they really had nothing else to do. They had headed advice given to them by Zina a while back, which had come true. Because they had pried and pursued an investigation, devastating consequences followed. For now, they hung back.

Max wiped some tears of laughter from his eyes. "Remember when we were at a club a while back and Dega used Zona and I as backup dancers for his song to ask out Lily? Kiba, you ended up as the chef for Ryo's dinner because you made a scene afterwards!"

"It was awkward and I didn't know how to respond!" The student whined, trying to drown out the second round of laughter that filled the room.

* * *

*With Dega*

The tiger lion sat on a table in the now closed down noodle shop of the late Mr. Ping. After the goose had passed, nobody could pick up the mantle of his shop and carry on the business, so now it sat there as a relic of what once was. Dega examined the new weapons in his hands. Thanks to Zina's help, his power swords and Kiro's staffs had been fused into one. The end of the sword was combined with the end of the staff, making it a double weapon. The power of the two that was now forced together made it easier to summon larger and more powerful objects, and when elongated became two deadly Naginata.

The hero hopped down from the table and went into the shop, making his way up the stairs into Po's old room, where Zina was examining the place.

"It's trashed," She stated. "Kai's people have already been here. Not surprised."

"Another lead down?"

She nodded. "I'm getting tired of searching for clues as to where to find my old boss. Figured something may have been in here, but no. Of course not."

The assassin turned to face Dega, who was clanking his swords together and making "pew, pew" sounds.

"The next stop we should make should be Gongmen City. That's where the explosives are being made for Overlord's upcoming takeover. We find what factories are under his influence, and we burn them to the ground."

The tiger lion smirked and nodded.

"Then let's have some fun," She finished, and the two hopped out the bedroom window and disappeared into the night.

 **So there we go! Things have changed since the end of the last story. But where's Kai? What's gonna happen next?**

 **Let me know in the reviews if you're happy the stories back and if you liked the new chapter!**

 **I'm not gonna do an upload schedule because now that I'm in track training, my uploads are gonna be a little sporadic (however, not far apart. No more one year disappearances).**

 **Been a while since you've read this outro, but as always, more to come…**


	2. Fugitives

**Well considering I've been gone for a year and most of this story consists of OC characters, I think the first chapter went very well! Now, of course, the first chapter always gets the most views, so we'll see how this next one goes…**

 **ANYWAY! Yes, I know that the last chapter was a little depressing, but it won't always be like that. I tried to lighten the mood with some humor with the students and then Dega going "pew pew," but I guess that wasn't enough. Time to roll out the big guns to make this interesting.**

*Three days later, on the outskirts of Gongmen City*

"I'm covered in mud and leaves, I smell like Po's bath water and my throat might as well be the Sahara Desert. Are we there yet?" Dega whined as he and Zina trudged through the shrubbery.

The assassin groaned and rolled her eyes. "My cousin was too soft on you. This is nothing compared to what training I endured back in Japan. Besides, we're getting close to the city gates."

"About that," The tiger lion piped up. "Why didn't you just steal a ship and head back to Japan after you quit your…uh…job?"

"If Overlord takes over China, who's to say he won't want to expand his empire after a while?" Came the response. "That and I'm wanted for heinous crimes against the country."

Dega's eyes became the size of golf balls as he continued to push through the dense forest. Following Zina's trail, he ducked under a fallen log that was in his path while the black tiger pushed a branch out of her way, not turning around when it flew back into place and accidentally hit the student square in the face, knocking him to the ground. The two eventually made it out of the woods and wandered the area until the found one of the few entrances to the city. There, they walked up to a couple guards that were patrolling the gate, and once they were spotted, the two rhinos immediately pointed their weapons and ordered them on the ground.

"I SAID HALT!" One rhino repeated.

Zina rolled her eyes and lowered her voice to a whisper. "I can take them out."

"Uh, no. If you're going to be somewhat good now, you're going to have to follow my lead. That means no killing right now," Dega chided.

"But it'd be so easy. No one would know," She hissed.

"I said no, Zina."

She heaved an exasperated sigh before motioning towards the two soldiers. "You do the talking, then. Just remember that they may be working for Overlord. We can't trust anyone in this city."

The student smirked and waltzed up to the two guards, who still hadn't lowered their weapons and were getting ready to turn him into a shish-ka-bob.

"What's up, fellas?" He greeted. "Guess you don't know me? I'm Dega Takimuro! Ya know, son of Jade Palace master Kiro Takimuro?"

The two rhinos looked at each other and frowned. They didn't lower their weapons, but instead tightened their grip on them.

"The Overlord cometh?" Zina called out from behind the student, giving the secret greeting between members of the secret criminal organization.

"Zina," The second guard exclaimed, straightening his posture along with his partner. "The Overlord cometh, indeed. We heard you defected from the organization."

"The Dragon Warrior and his friends infiltrated our network, so Overlord released that statement to throw them of course. They're looking for me to get information out of me, but I'm still very much on your side," The Japanese assassin explained. "The boy here is the son of the late Kiro Takimuro. He's been feeding us information from inside the Jade Palace after Overlord went dark. He's not yet grasped the concept of our greeting between members."

The rhinos nodded. "What brings you to the city? We didn't know you were coming."

The black cat raised an eyebrow and pulled the hood of her cloak over her head. "Like I said, our organization has been slightly infiltrated. We're reorganizing our communication system and I came here to make sure everything is still intact with our bomb making strategy."

The two soldiers nodded again and pushed the gate open. "Let us know if we can do anything."

Dega eyed the guards as he and Zina entered the city. The two made their way through the streets before entering a local restaurant and sitting down at a table, shooing away a waiter once they did.

"So…?" The tiger lion began.

"A good assassin and a bad liar don't go hand in hand," Came the stiff reply. "If this is gonna work, we're going to have to trust each other."

The boy shrugged. "So now what? There are a ton of factories around this city, and we can't go around to every person using your secret greeting or whatever to figure out if they're bad or not."

Zina smirked. "There's one factory that I know of that definitely makes explosives for Overlord—"

"—You mean Kai?"

"Yeah. Kai. Anyway, once we get inside, we get the list of the other factories that are collaborating with it when it comes to weapons and bomb shipments. Then we blow everything up."

Dega's head slumped down into his arms. "Seriously, how did this guy build up this massive group of criminals over this time? I mean, how did this go unnoticed?"

The ex-villain smiled a little, revealing her sharp, white feline teeth. "Won't go unnoticed for long."

* * *

*With Kai and Jaguar X, three hours earlier*

"Chao is scheduled to be executed in five days. What're your plans for his escape? Surely you won't let your own step brother die," Jaguar X stated. "Actually, knowing you, I wouldn't put money on anything you do."

Kai turned and smirked at his other brother. "Heavily guarded fortress with high-caliber crossbows and thousands of guards, a moat and traps at every turn? Protecting a cell made from the most durable steel in all of China?"

X grimaced at the description.

"I was thinking you'd teleport in, grab him and leave," Came the simple reply. "You…are capable of that, aren't you? I mean, you didn't exactly fair well against a mere child the last time I sent you into the field, and you did get your butt handed to you by one of our own."

"It wasn't a fair fight!" The villain complained, pouting. "Besides, she's a professional assassin. I'm still getting a hang of this whole villain thing. But…Yeah. I can go in and get him."

"If you fail, I won't send someone to get you."

X rolled his eyes and walked towards the door. "Don't overwhelm me with your confidence, brother."

* * *

*With Dega, at the Fi Manufacturing Plant*

After the black tiger requested a private tour of the facility through her secret greeting, Zina and Dega were able to move throughout the factory with ease, looking around at the different items being built. They soon entered a moderately sized room that only contained medium-sized boxes and a desk.

"This place is messier than my room, but everything looks normal," The tiger lion stated, poking different packaged items and wooden crates. "You sure this is the place?"

"They accepted my greeting, didn't they?" The ex-criminal responded, slicing the ropes off of one of the containers and flipping open the lid. "Nothing but cheap trinkets. Look around for a list or a book that might help us know what other factories are working with this one."

Dega obeyed and began snooping around the area, opening drawers and cabinets, letting out a high pitched scream every once in a while when a large spider scrambled out from a container or from behind a crack.

"Watch it, ya bum!" One arachnid spat, shaking one hairy leg before scampering off.

"Keep looking around," Zina ordered after a few minutes. "I'm going to see if it's in the manager's room."

Dega complied and moved through the room, coughing at the absurd amount of dust that blew up in his face after moving a few boxes around. The place was a mess. The only thing that he'd get out of this area was maybe bronchitis.

"What're ya lookin' for, kid?" A gruff voice said from behind the student.

The tiger lion turned to find an employee leaning against a wall, looking at him rummage through the different crates. Caught red handed.

"Trying to find something that'll help me track down someone on my naughty list," Dega replied. "Gonna give them some coal."

"And what might that somethin' be?" The worker pressed, obviously suspicious of the hero.

"A book. It's called "Business" by the author Nunya," The hero responded, turning fully around and facing the employee who was now walking towards him. "Although I don't think reading is quite your thing. Lemme guess… Company scapegoat? Oh! You're the guy who never gets invited to any work parties, right?"

The employee kicked the student in the chest, making him stumble backwards. "You think we can't spot a couple fakes? You and your friend? We may not be smart, but we heard of your pal's booting out of the organization."

Dega grunted and drew his swords. "Kick like a mule. Look like one, too."

"I'm gonna teach you some manners, punk," The worker growled, taking a few swings at the tiger lion, to which the student rolled under him and kicked him in the tenders.

"Oh, you mean the manners that your mother failed to teach you?" The hero jeered. "Irony so thick I can smell it. Oh wait… No, that's just molten iron."

A sudden crash behind him made the student whirl around. The manager that had welcomed them to the factory soared through a window in the upper office and fell into a vat of bubbling steel. Zina emerged from the shattered glass, holding a leather book and shooting a wad of spit down at the location of where he fell. She turned and caught the glare that Dega was giving her and shrugged.

"I SAID NO KILLING!" He shouted.

"HE WAS WORKING FOR OVERLORD!" Came the reply. "BESIDES, HE STARTED IT."

She leaped down onto a metal walkway and made her way over to the son of Kiro. Swiftly walking over to the coughing worker, who was on the ground holding his injured region, Zina stood over him.

"Hey…sweet thing…" He groaned.

The black tiger picked the employee up by the collar and hung him on a coat hanger, making her way around the gun powder that littered the floor and ushered the young student out the door. Pulling out a match, she striked the tip against the wooden door frame and tossed it inside, shutting the door without Dega noticing.

"I suppose you found something?" The student asked as they quickly made their way back towards the exit.

Workers were rushing around now. They had abandoned their posts and were scrambling for different tools they could use as weapons to take down the two intruders.

The ex-villain smirked and held up the small book. "We need to destroy this place. See those vats of iron down there?"

Dega nodded.

"Topple those. The wooden beams and walls'll catch fire and burn this place to the ground. I'll keep the factory stooges off you," She stated, drawing her two katanas and leaping down to the main floor.

The hero turned to his right when he heard shouts from where they previously came. A number of goons with shovels and pliers were rushing towards him, making their way around the office where he and Zina just were. Suddenly, a large explosion obliterated the room, sending the employees flying over the edge and out of his line of sight. Dega shrugged and leaped over the edge, landing on the side of one of the vats and pushing off, toppling one over and sending molten iron all across the floor. The tiger lion flipped a switch on the sides of his weapons, which elongated the ends and turning into his two Naginata. Gripping the handles tightly, he leaped into the air and slammed the tips of Kiro's old staffs into the ground, shocking the area around him and causing any nearby workers to pass out. Feeling the ground beneath his feet shake, the student turned to see a large gorilla thundered towards him with malice in his eyes.

"Didn't expect to face off against Donkey Kong today," He muttered, flipping his weapons around so the swords were pointed at his enemy.

He charged his tools and sent a blast of green energy into the large ape, which flung the beast across the factory floor and into the side of another vat, toppling the flaming contents all over the ground.

Fire began to spread across the wooden planks on the floor and up the wooden beams onto the second level of the factory. To keep from being burned, Zina had to run across the wall and sucker punch an enemy that was waiting for her on the other side.

Meanwhile, the gorilla Dega had just flung across the area had gotten back up and was hurtling boxes and crates in his direction, to which the hero shattered by either cutting them in half with his words or smashing them with the charged staffs on the other end.

"King Kong, you've gotta calm down!" Dega jeered as he vaulted over the deranged ape and slammed Kiro's staffs into his head, making the beast fall unconscious. "Monsieur Mallah is down for the count."

"Dega! Vats!" Zina called from above, whacking her staff into the heads of two wolf workers.

"Right, right!" He assured, whirling around and shooting beams of energy at the other workers who were rushing towards him. "There're so many! Geez!"

Toppling over the other vats of iron, Dega made a break for the exit, knocking any enemies that stood in his way to the sides. The fire was spreading more quickly now, reaching the rafters and causing bits and chunks of the ceiling to cave in. Leaping over wooden beams that were engulfed in the raging inferno, the tiger lion sped towards the exit, which, to his dismay, was blocked by a pile of burning rubble and wood.

"Zina? A way out?" Dega called, looking up on the second floor.

The assassin drew one of her blades out of an attacking factory employee and kicked him through the wall in the front of the building, creating a nice hole to jump through. She motioned to it with her hand before leaping out.

The tiger lion sheathed his weapons before backing up a good measure and rushing forward, leaping high into the air. He flailed his arms a little before grabbing the ledge of the upper floor with his right hand. As soon as he grabbed hold, though, the support beam underneath that area gave way due to the fire, and the wooden walkway came crashing to the ground, taking Dega with it. He coughed violently as the smoke started to suffocate him. Rolling over, he drew his weapons once more and plunged the sharp ends of his swords into the walls of the factory. He continued to do scale the vertical slope until he neared the hole, to which he flipped himself through the gap and withdrew his swords.

Dega fell a good twenty feet before slamming into the ground and coughing some more, expelling more smoke from his lungs. Getting up and sheathing his weapons, he saw Zina waiting for him by the factory exit with thirty imperial soldiers lying on the ground around her.

"They're not dead. Well, not the ones that are loyal to the Emperor anyway," She said blandly, picking her teeth with one of her kunai. "We should get going. We still have three other factories to hit and more guards'll be on their way. We should expect heavy resistance."

"Outnumbered?"

"Always."

Dega groaned as he stood up and stretched. "Always did like a challenge. Let's light 'em up."

The black tiger rolled her eyes and walked through the exit of the courtyard, making her way down the steps. "Great. Another Takimuro who makes horrible puns."

* * *

*With Po and the other masters, one day later, in the Jade Palace*

"THEY WHAT?" Tigress shouted, shooting to her feet.

The leaders of the Jade Palace had just received a message from Gongmen City. A goose had flown all the way from there to deliver an urgent message that someone who looked like one of their old students, accompanied by a black tiger, had just burned four different factories to the ground.

"Well that was unexpected," Crane murmured to his slithery wife, who widened her eyes a little.

"He's Kiro's son. It's really not much of a surprise," She whispered back.

"Despite that being incredibly awesome…" Po began, receiving a glare from both Tigress and Mei Ling. "…They have to be stopped before any more damage is done. Right, um, honey?"

The orange tiger master's expression became stern as she turned to the goose. "Where're they heading next?"

"No idea!" The messenger responded, sweating profusely as Tigress' death stare. "Honest! They disappeared into the woods shortly after! The Emperor ordered search parties to be sent after them, but considering one of them was trained by you all, I doubt that they'll be found if they don't want to be."

"The Emperor wanna see us?" Mantis asked.

"Of course. He thinks that since you taught one of them, you'd be very beneficial in finding them. He wants to meet with all of you personally to decide the next course of action."

"We can't get there as fast as we once did," Crane exclaimed. "Dega has both the staffs and the swords! It'll be at least a six day journey!"

"We better get moving then. Po, you up for another long hike?" Tigress asked, standing up and cracking her knuckles.

"I'll get my pack and action figures…" He mumbled, trudging off to his quarters.

* * *

*With Tang, Takami and Max, ten minutes later*

"We're in charge?" The three asked in unison as they stood before the masters.

The students had been summoned by their teachers shortly after the messenger had left the palace.

"You three are probably the most responsible in your groups and we need someone to look after the valley so it's not reduced to smoldering ash," Po exclaimed. "And I thought…and ate… and thought more. I finally decided that you three would be not-really-perfect-but-decent-enough to be in charge while we're gone!"

"I don't want anyone separated from each other, alright? If one person has to go somewhere, I want half of everyone in here to go with them. We can't take any risks, alright?" Viper stated. "Especially…not now."

Crane looked off to the side, remembering Lily and Zan.

"Make sure everyone does their training, because if you don't, then running up and down the palace steps eight times is gonna seem like a reward when I'm done with you all," Tigress fumed, still mad about Dega and Zina's sporadic behavior.

Takami and Tang nodded while Max gave a mock salute.

"Alright. We'll be back in about two weeks. Try not to destroy everything," Mei Ling sighed as the masters walked out the palace doors.

Po stuck his head in one last time before taking off. "Feel free to mess with any of the ancient weapons or stuff. Have a little fun!"

With that, he was off as well.

 **Sorry I haven't updated in a little bit. The college search is getting really hectic with school, track and everything else. I won't really have an upload schedule aside from the fact that I'll upload on the weekends.**

 **Please leave a review with your thoughts. I felt like this chapter had a nice amount of action and humor in it, but that's just me.**

 **Anyway, more to come…**


	3. AN: Got Your Hopes Up, Didn't I?

**Hey guys! Generic annoying FanFiction writer #4,307 here! I know I've fallen off the ball when it comes to updating for you guys, and if it weren't for grades, college, sports, family, friends and life, I'd be updating nonstop every hour! But as it is, there are only 24 hours in a day, and those are filled with working and sleeping!**

 **But fear not! Since I'm non creative in any way and am on the cat level of being lazy, I'm uploading this exact same author's note to all three of my current stories! Below are the days when you can expect an update from me! And feel free between now and when I die to roast me in the reviews!**

 **KFP Next Gen Finale (Part 2 of 3): Nation of Evil** **= April 15th, 2016 (For real this time)**

 **Sonic Legends Finale (Part 1 of 3): Inferno** **= April 23rd, 2016 (We're, like, two chapters from the end of the story)**

 **Tag Team** **= April 17th, 2016**

 **Now, providing no one in my family bites the dust or my stupid track meets get moved to those posting days, those chapter will be up and good to go. All of them will be super-good to make up for my leave of absence.**

 **If it weren't for my English teacher always assigning essays, I'd have those chapters up much sooner. #StopEstes2k16**

 **And for my loyal followers (who are insane enough to stick with me through my sporadic updates), I've got some questions:**

 **KFP readers:** **What do you think is gonna happen next? What'll become of Zina and Dega? How will Tang handle holding down the fort while the masters are away?**

 **Son** **ic** **readers: As we near the end of part 1, do you think they'll be able to save Blaze in time? Will Blizzard give in to his Anti side? Will Catharsis betray everyone?**

 **Tag Team readers: Did you find the hint that I placed in the previous chapter? Hint: Look back at the criminal name abbreviations in the messages a couple chapters back.**

 **So moisturize your dry palms and wipe the sweat from your brow, because I'm back at it again with those white vans (I'm so sorry plz don't kill me) and updates. More to come... ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ**


	4. On the Hunt

**This chapter is LONG overdue, so I won't keep you waiting! Just gonna cut to the important stuff!**

 **Chapter is here a little late because of a power outage that happened while I was writing the new chapter! Erased everything because I didn't save as I went! Had to rewrite this whole thing! Really demoralizing!**

 **Also, if you liked the new movie Zootopia that was released by Disney (most people who've seen it like it), then check out my story on that called Tag Team! It's my most successful story to date with over 10,000 views, over 200 follows and over 100 favorites as well as close to 70 reviews with just 6 chapters. Crazy, right?**

 **Alright! Let's get to it!**

*With Dega and Zina, in Ban Shi city, three days later*

After destroying the rest of Overlord's explosives factories, the two eluded capture by the Royal Army and ducked into the forest. For three days and nights, they made their way through the brush, with much complaining on Dega's part, and arrived at their next destination in relatively good shape. Using some money that Zina had on her, to which she refused to tell her nephew where she got it from, they were able to rent a room in a hotel for a few nights. The two were now seated at a table in a small restaurant, glancing at the sun setting on the horizon.

"So is this gonna be a habit?" The tiger lion questions, picking his teeth with one of his weapons.

"Put those away!" His aunt hissed, batting his arm down. "The last thing we need is more attention drawn to us. Now, what habit?"

Dega rolled his eyes. "The habit of not telling me what we're doing at our new location until we get here. You haven't explained the reason for why we're here yet."

Zina waved an oncoming waiter away and sniffed. "We're here to expose some of Overlord's political moles and rough up a few of his goons. That black book that listed those factories? Hm, well, it listed some names too. Guys he's paid off to help him."

"Ooh lah lah!" The student exclaimed, clicking his tongue. "Pardon my French. So who's our first unlucky, snooty politician?"

The assassin shifted her gaze to an ox that was finishing his dinner over on the far side of the restaurant. They were seated in a good spot so that she could spy on him, and since they were located by the only exit of the place, it would be impossible for him to leave without her knowing.

"You think we came here for the food? Your father's bath water probably tastes better than the soup here. Shung-Feh is the representative of this city when he reports to the Emperor. He's been feeding him false information and has altered import records so weapons for Overlord can come in without a trace," Zina explained.

Dega carefully turned so that he too could see their target. The ox glanced around quickly before standing up from his meal and walking towards the exit.

"And he didn't pay his bill," The son of Kiro muttered. "The man is a monster."

"Yes…" Zina added slowly, eyeing her insane relative. "Priorities."

Once the ox walked past them, the black tiger nodded to her ally and stood up, following him out the door. The two trailed him for a little bit before Shung-Feh walked into an old hut and let the door close behind him. The former criminal put her finer to her mouth and motioned for Dega to take the front. After that, she crept around the back of the house and disappeared out of sight.

Dega drew his naginata and made his way closer towards the entrance. Pushing open the door slightly, he peered inside. The only thing he saw was the guy he was pursuing sitting in a chair, smiling at him. He even gave a little wave.

Dega scoped out the rest of the room before walking in, determining it was clear. Once inside, an Imperial guard slammed the door behind the student and blocked the entrance.

"Word travels fast, Dega Takimuro," The ox hummed. "You and your accomplice, Zina, have brewed up some trouble with the higher powers. You thought I couldn't pick you two out of a crowd? Please. You may as well have been waving your arms and doing backflips."

"Well, ya know, subtlety has never run in my family. Actually, aside from my two parents, nobody runs in my family. You seen Tang? He's kinda chubby," Dega stated, shrugging his shoulders and tightening his grip on his weapons. "I call him Moldy Dumpling sometimes. Like, black and white. Black mold. Stuff like that."

 _Now you've got me hungry, bro!_ Los complained from inside his head for the first time in a while.

"Oh! Fancy time for you to show up!" The tiger lion groaned, rolling his head and drawing weird glances from Shung-Feh and the soldier. "Gone for a few months just to show up and say peace? H-Hold! Hold up! Shut…Just shut up for a sec!"

Dega turned around to face the Imperial soldier before digging the butt of his weapon into the rhino's chest, causing an electric current to flow through him. The trooper dropped his weapon and fell to the ground unconscious.

 _You look busy, broski. When you're done here, I'm gonna conk ya out and bring you here for a little talk,_ The ghost from inside his head responded. _Right now, you've got a problem to deal with._

"Do you honestly think my only protection was that soldier, young one?" The ox huffed, standing up quickly and walking towards another door in the room. "You and Zina have stirred quite a ruckus in Gongmen, which drew attention…"

He opened the door to reveal Kai, clothed in black with his armored claw-arm fully extended and sharpened. The fox looked quite peeved.

"…from my leader himself."

Dega's eyebrows raised as the villain who assassinated his sister and father waltzed in. The scar on his face had gotten worse from the last time he saw the fox, remembering a few months back. He looked more worn, yet still held the look of malice and slyness in his eyes. Years of training from elite villains had made him a master of his own form of martial art. He'd taken on Tigress and almost won. This was someone not to be trifled with.

"Uh…" The tiger lion sputtered. "What up?"

Kai sighed and looked the hero up and down. "You've caused quite a mess with your recent escapade in Gongmen. You and my former member, that is. Did you honestly think I wouldn't know what you were after? The book? I had to make sure my assets were protected before you could do any more harm. Not only for me, but for your family. The masters have been called to meet with the leader of China in hopes of shutting you down. To them, you attacked random factories and are now labeled as terrorists."

"Dude, you lie so often and so much…Why should I believe you?"

Overlord shrugged. "Suit yourself, but it's not like you're going to be brought in for trial. The courts are rigged. My presence is everywhere. My organization has spread like a blanket, covering China. I am unstoppable, and you will not live to see my new empire."

Striding towards Dega, the villain in black prepared for a fight, but was stopped when the roof of the hut caved in, dropping Zina into the room. There was a brief pause in the area while the assassin and the criminal mastermind eyed each other before the black tigress drew her two katanas and blocked a swift slash from Overlord's claws.

"Where there's one, there's the other," Kai snarled, kicking Zina in the stomach and stepping backwards.

Dega leaped over his aunt's head and front flipped towards his foe, sticking the landing and clashing the tips of his swords against Overlord's metal-covered arm. Kai swung his appendage to the side, knocking the blades off of him before using his other hand to grab Dega by the shirt, heave him into the air and smash him head first into the dirt floor. Spinning around and kicking Zina, he quickly strode towards her and slammed her head into his knee.

Meanwhile, Shung-Feh seized the opportunity to duck out the front door and escape.

The assassin growled and sheathed her swords, cracking her knuckles and wiping a trickle of blood from her nose. Rushing Kai, she dodged a jab at her midsection from his armored claws and caught his arm, knocking his feet out from under him and using her free arm to cover his eyes and slam his head into the ground. Overlord let out a gasp of pain before swinging his legs upward and nailing Zina in the shoulder, effectively pushing her off of him. Getting to his feet, the villain heard Dega approaching him from behind and sidestepped his attack, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and launching him through a wall of the hut.

The tiger lion tumbled across the ground and picked up his powered weapons once more. Granted, he was more skilled using the electric ends of the naginata or the bladed parts for regular combat, but he was neither skilled nor knowledgeable when it came to utilizing them like his father had. Summoning outlines of figures, recreating outlines of buildings and other items…The closest thing he could do was summon a rocket cart.

That was it.

Quickly, the student scrambled to his feet and focused his mind on creating said method of transportation. The swords' green energy coupled with the staff's red power surged and began to form a bright yellow cart in front of the hero. The wheels were made, then the frame, next the rockets and finally the tiny string that set the cart in motion.

Dega opened his eyes and smirked in satisfaction, hopping in and channeling his father.

"PULL THE STRING!" He shouted, grasping the tiny piece of rope.

"SHUT UP OVER THERE!" An angry pig yelled before continuing to try to sell fruit.

The hero sent a small burst of power towards the animal, singing his butt, before yanking the string and sparking the cart to life. The outline shot quickly towards Overlord, who had his hands firmly grasped around Zina's wrists and held off to the side. Aiming the rocket cart just right, the student nailed Kai right in the side and pinned him to the front of the wooden wagon as it burst through the other side of the hut.

The object dissipated, sending the villain rolling across the ground before quickly getting to his feet.

"What is it with your family and that thing?" The fox barked before racing back towards the hero.

Overlord ducked under a swipe of Dega's swords, getting right in the tiger lion's face. Grabbing the hero's right arm, Kai twisted it sharply to the left until a cracking sound was heard. The student cried out in pain and dropped the sword, allowing Kai to send a follow-up blow. Elbowing the son of Kiro in the nose, the fox flattened his palm and chopped at the inside of Dega's elbow, loosening his grip on the other blade. Wrenching it out of his hand, Overlord grabbed the powered weapon, turned the pointed edge downward and plunged it into Dega's midsection, grabbing his head and flinging him over the villain's shoulder afterwards.

Panting and huffing, looking on at the motionless student of the Jade Palace, the mastermind nodded briefly at his work before roaring in pain as a kunai found its mark on his right calf. Falling to the ground, gripping his leg, Kai turned to find a furious Zina storming towards him. Yanking the throwing knife from his calf, the fox twirled the kunai in his fingers before throwing it back towards the assassin, who caught it in midair and sheathed it back in its pocket across her chest. Just as she was about to strangle the life force out of Kai, a blue portal opened up beneath him and he fell through. The rift closed within seconds.

Zina sighed. "Hate it when he does that…"

She made her way over to Dega and rolled him over, examining his wound and pleased to find that he was still breathing. The blade had penetrated the right side of his body, but upon a first glance, it didn't seem like any vitals were hit.

"I coulda sword I was beating him…" The student groaned before painfully laughing. "Who even am I?"

His aunt narrowed her eyes and yanked the blade from his body. "Just a flesh wound. We'll bandage you up and have you down some medicinal herbs. You should be good to go. Your sanity…I can't speak for that."

Dega howled in laughter as he clutched his side in agony.

Zina rolled her eyes and helped her nephew up. "What's wrong with you? It's like I'm the only sane one in the bloodline…and I kill for a living. My honor is in the dumpster."

"Kai kinda looked like he crawled out of a dumpster. Dude looked…nasty."

The black tigress shook her head and slung the student upon her back, beginning the trek to someplace where he could be patched up.

* * *

*With the masters*

"We made good time, all things considered. We're here ahead of schedule," Crane observed, looking around the palace courtyard that belonged to the Emperor.

"Yes, but how is getting tied down by authority and policy going to help us get Dega back?" Mei Ling grumbled, folding her arms across her chest. "We should be in Gongmen trying to figure out what happened there so we can predict where they'll be next—not being wined and dined while we try to convince the army that my son isn't a criminal."

"He's certainly not helping himself by hanging out with a wanted assassin, Mei Ling," Tigress countered sternly but calmly. "I don't know what she said to influence him, but I have a hard time believing that Zina is still working for Kai. Dega wouldn't team up with anyone who's still working for someone who's done as much harm to him as Kai has."

"So…you think Zina's good now?" Mantis questioned.

"She's playing her own game now, and she's gotta be using Dega to help her get what she wants. It's how she works. She's not working for Overlord anymore, but she's definitely not giving up on her use of lethal skill," Viper replied. "Po?"

Everybody turned and looked at the panda, who wiggled his eyebrows in amusement. "I trust Dega. He's got his father's moral compass and his been trained by the most awesome, cool, heroic gang in all of China! With all the knowledge we body slammed into that head of his, he's gotta be doing the right thing."

"Masters of the Jade Palace!" A rhino called from the top of the somewhat small stairs. "The Emperor of China shall see you now!"

The panda nodded with a smile before looking at the steps and groaning. "This never gets easier."

* * *

*With Tang, at the Jade Palace, at night*

The adopted son of the Dragon Warrior sat on the steps of the palace, looking up into the starry night. He breathed in some cool air and exhaled, trying to calm his thoughts. Most everyone was inside, laughing and having a good time around the dinner table, but Tang decided to eat outside. He just wasn't in the mood for it.

"What's up, Yin-Yang?"

Emphasis on most everyone.

The voice was unmistakably Kiba's, and no doubt that he was out here to see what's up and to try to attempt to bring cheer to the panda.

"The sky, Kiba," Came the reply, countering whatever joke the student had prepared.

The wolf dog's eyes widened and jaw dropped as his gaze shot up in the air, looking around wildly. "Wha…? Oh, wow! Look at that! Since when has that been there? Sky, you call it? Holy moly!"

The hero plopped down next to Tang and tucked his feet underneath him.

"What's got you out here by yourself, Chuckles?" He questioned, eyeing the panda. "Down in the dumps? What, did every restaurant in the valley shut down? D-Did, uh…Did they stop selling pants large enough for Master Po? What? What's the problem? Missing our daily five trips up and down the steps? I think my blisters are almost healed. Was about to start namin' them."

Tang snorted. "Just thinking about everything."

"Everything? Easy there, Confucius."

"Everything that's been going on recently. The masters are gone for right now. I miss my friends."

"Gee, thanks."

The panda punched Kiba in the shoulder. "The friends I grew up with before you guys showed up. Dega, Zan, Lily and Lupa. I know there's nothing I can do to bring Lily, Lupa or Zan back, but when Dega left…I mean, he was the first friend I had. I arrived at the palace and his welcoming party was an outline of a pie in the face."

Kiba sighed. "Yeah, we had some funny times. Had pun contests. See who could out-pun each other."

"Made me wanna leap off the edge of the palace and roll down the cliff…"

"Well, that's kinda—"

"—head first…"

"Um, I didn't think that—"

"—without a helmet."

"Alright! Enough!" Kiba protested, throwing his hands up. "Not only did you kick my ego while it was down, but you elbow dropped it through the earth!"

Tang laughed. "I'm fine, Kiba. Really, I am. I was just clearing my head was all."

The wolf dog helped his friend up. "As long as you don't book it outta here, I'm cool. Although it seems like you can't really book it anywhere, if you pick up what I'm puttin' down."

The panda grinned and headed inside the palace with the student.

 **And there we go! Sorry for the long wait for this chapter! One month of school left for me before I'm basically free from responsibilities! Whooo!**

 **Please leave a review with your thoughts!**

 **More to come…**


	5. Author's Note: Comeback

**They say there once was a writer who could think of unique stories with twists to keep his readers guessing, all while balancing three different stories in three different fandoms at once; a writer who could develop fresh characters with new backstories that were tied to the original characters, but yet held their own as their own separate tale. The more he wrote, the more attention and feedback his work obtained, until he became a somewhat well-known author in the fandoms he wrote for. However, one day, he vanished. Due to the intense amount of pressure at his college and the death of his childhood Golden Retriever, he both lost the motivation to write and hit writer's block.**

 **However, from the mist, he returns, fully recovered from his loss and with a general idea of how to balance his schoolwork. In that time he was gone, he was able to figure out each general direction he wanted his stories to go in while keeping them interesting, thrilling, suspenseful and somewhat grounded in a basis of reality.**

 **He steps forward, having practiced what he was going to say for his prolonged absence. He is ready. Opening his mouth and with a gleam of creativity, playfulness and mischief in his eyes, he asks…**

…

…

…

" **How's it slouchin', my bro-hams?"**

" **Best introduction ever" 10/10 – IGN**

 **So after that weird intro/explanation, we get to this part. Everything in there is true. College has been kicking my butt for the past month, but I think I've found a way to manage the workload. And yes, my Golden Retriever, Daisy, died back in August on my birthday. She was 12 and was, sadly, riddled with cancer. We didn't have enough money to go through with an operation, and even if we did, we found out she was anemic, meaning that once she started bleeding, she couldn't stop. That meant even if the surgery was a success in removing the tumors, she would have bled out. There was no real way to save her. And while I still miss my puppy, I'm happy she passed in her sleep in our home next to my mom, for whom she probably cared the most for. Anyway, I've coped with this and have put it behind me, because after that, I lost my motivation to write. So for those of you who were asking where the new updates were, that's why I didn't even put up an Author's Note. I felt like I would owe some kind of explanation, and it would've saddened me too much at that time to recount all of this.**

 **But now I'm back. I'm going to update my KFP and Zootopia stories and finish off part one for my Sonic story. Answers will be revealed in the Zootopia story as I go along, a sinister plot will come closer to fruition in the KFP story, and an epic and unforeseen stand will take place in the final chapter of the Sonic story. And a message to the Zootopia readers: I feel like I'm about to jump the shark with the flamethrower. I'll explain how that came to be and dial it back a little on the ridiculous scale from now on.**

 **I'm planning on updating all of my stories at the same time, which means I'll be writing three different chapters for three different stories. Expect these to be posted on the 6** **th** **or 7** **th** **of October. For real this time. I don't expect anything else to happen to prohibit me from updating. It's been far too long and I've missed you guys.**

 **And if this message sounds a little less energetic than you're used to, that's because I stayed up until 2 this morning studying for a test, had a double-shot coffee a little while ago and am now feeling the crash.**

 **So sorry for the downer AN, but that's why I was gone for so long. But now I'm back. I know I say that a lot, but I won't be held down by this any longer. Now… IT'S TIME TO WRITE!**

 **P.S. For an undecided amount of time, I'm going to have a picture of my Golden as my profile picture on here in memory. For the two people that actually check my profile from time to time, that's the reason for the picture change.**


	6. Like Father Like Son

**I would say I'm sorry for the wait, but I've said sorry a ton, so I'm just gonna…**

 **GET ON WITH IT!**

*With the masters, in the throne room of the Emperor's palace*

"The Dragon Warrior and the Masters of the Jade Palace!" The reptilian leader of China exclaimed, who was now much older since the last time the heroes had seen him. "I'm pleased you could make it on such short notice. I only wish it was under much more…positive circumstances. Uh, how're the other students?"

"They're doing well, Your Highness," Crane responded, stepping forward and bowing. "They're working harder than ever and they've made large strides in their training."

"Yup, they're pretty much the most well trained students in all of China," Po boasted in addition, attempting to puff out his chest and puffing out his large stomach instead. "But really, though, they are doing very well. I couldn't be more proud."

The snake nodded. "I do believe that your students are some of the most well trained in the nation. They receive the same level of practice, yes? I know each pupil is unique and thus require different methods, but they all progress at roughly the same rate?"

The masters nodded.

"So then your rogue student, Dega Takimuro, is also one of the most well trained, combat focused children in all of China as well," The Emperor finished. "That's quite…typical for your group. No offense. You are the best warriors in our great country, but these things tend to happen to you."

"That comes with the territory, I suppose. Don't worry, Your Highness, we'll find Dega and bring Zina into custody," Tigress said sternly.

"I wouldn't make additional promises that might be hard to keep, Master Tigress. We seem to be on the brink of crisis, with some of our factories under attack, our ranks becoming corrupted and such," The ruler advised.

"It's not a promise, sir. It's a fact. We've always come out on top before. We have experience. We have connections to other palaces across China that we've developed over the years. We'll find both of them," The tiger master insisted, stepping forward.

"Well in that case, I'm sending you out to find the two of them. The Dragon Warrior should stay with the Jade Palace students in order to protect your home from any further attacks. Your valley has become a hot-spot for attacks, criminals, an invasion at one point, and other utter disasters," The head of China sighed. "Villains attack your home more than my palace. Wonder why that is. Doesn't make a lot of sense…Bah. Anyway, I'm increasing the soldier count in the Valley of Peace and am placing an order out that if Dega is found, to be brought in alive. Zina, on the other hand, is to be apprehended by all means necessary. Dead or alive, she must be brought in."

The masters said nothing, and instead bowed in reply.

"Uh, before you go, I want to speak to Mei Ling, please," The snake stated.

Po turned and patted the mountain lioness' shoulder before motioning for his friends to exit the room. Silently complying, the masters left the two alone and waited outside of the throne room, not turning around when the rhino guards shut the large, brass doors.

"Master Ling," The Emperor began, slithering off of his chair and down towards ground level. "I've heard about all that has happened to you over these months. Kiro's death, Lupa's passing, Dega's sudden leave—that all must have been very hard for you. My uncle, for all of the crooked things he did, was wise in choose your husband as apart of his special warriors."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"Cease. I should thank you—all of you. I didn't deserve this position. I only inherited it because of who I was related to. I've done nothing heroic in my life. I was not a qualified leader when I obtained this title, and I still have much learning to do. It's not just the citizens of China that look up to you all. I do as well. You all would have been more qualified to lead this nation than I," He continued. "I just wanted to say that. There's, er, one more thing. With your permission, I…I would like to make Dega one of my special warriors here at the palace after he completes his training."

The master, shocked at this news, widened her eyes and took a few steps back. "But…you've deemed him a fugitive. Why…?"

"He's a fugitive at the moment, but I believe that Zina has warped his mind. She's promised him revenge, I bet, so if we just set his mind right after all the damage she's done, I believe he'll be back on the right track. He's misguided. Simple as that. Think on it, Master Ling. You're dismissed."

* * *

*Inside Dega's mind, five minutes earlier*

After he'd been slung over the assassin's shoulder and carried off to get bandaged up, the tiger lion had passed out. His spirit awoke in his conscious, which was the only way people could hope to communicate with the spirit world, where those who'd passed on now resided. Having the ghost of one of his father's old friends harbor within him made this kind of contact easier for him than most.

The student found himself in a large field, surrounded by a white mist after he had regained consciousness. He was a little surprised that he was by himself, considering Los, his father's friend, had said earlier that he wanted to meet. The reckless bobcat was not known to be the patient type, so Dega was expecting to be shaken awake by the ghost, not peacefully aroused by his own conscious.

"Hello?" Dega shouted into the white fog that enveloped him.

"What a maroon you are, Dega," A feminine voice echoed, cutting through the smoke. "Even with all the sparring we've done before, and all those fictional action scrolls you've read, you still decide to take on the big bad villain without the backup of our…estranged aunt."

Lupa strode out of the mist with her hands behind her back and a smirk on her face. No wounds were on her form, and she looked relatively cleaner than Dega last saw her. Well, granted, the last time he saw her was before she was put in the ground. That was months ago, though. Happy thoughts.

"Actually, I'd say I'm more mocha tan than maroon," Dega huffed with a smile, cracking his knuckles and folding his arms. "Nice to see ya, sis. I'd say this is weird seeing you as a ghost, but honestly, this is pretty normal compared to a lot of things. Are you thinner than last time?"

The female tiger lion rolled her eyes, but still maintained her warm expression. "How have you managed to maintain your sense of humor throughout all this?"

"Guess I'm full of spirit. Wait. No, you're full of spirit. Literally," The son of Kiro replied, slapping his knee and giving a phony laugh. "So have you come to rag on my fighting abilities or is there something else? Los said he wanted to meet. Maybe he said he wanted meat. I dunno. He gets hungry a lot."

"Yeah, it's a chronic issue he has. I would send him to see a doctor, but…we're all dead here. Except you, of course," A female wolf stated, emerging from the mist and standing beside Lupa.

Sashi—an old friend of Kiro, the two's father, was a member of a Kung-Fu team that had served the previous Emperor. Kiro had been the somewhat reckless leader, having been trained by Tai Lung and briefly by Oogway afterwards, while Sashi had provided weapons expertise, and Los brought speed and agility used to hawk down criminals on the run. Unfortunately, shortly after Sashi and Los started dating, they were taken out by Sage, the step father of the very villain Dega and the others were facing presently. While Los was the foodie and relaxed one of the group, Sashi brought a more focused and clear perspective to the group of three, making their team equally entertaining, yet a force to be reckoned with.

"Oh! It's you! The one who made my sister love sharp objects and breaking people's spines! You standing in for Los? Is this some wool being pulled over my eyes? You shifty trickster, you," Dega greeted, eyeing the wolf.

While he got along with Sashi well, he didn't trust the wolf all that much, considering she had a large hand in transforming his sister into a lethal machine. It was a surprise that Sashi and Tigress never met. They probably would've been skipping through a field holding hands. Except, instead of a field, it'd be a battlefield filled with unconscious baddies. And instead of skipping it'd be more along the lines of a charge coupled with battle cries. And instead of holding hands it'd be side by side with various lethal weapons that could bring much of the word "pain" to their enemies.

"He's going to be meeting with your father and Master Oogway after finishing his twelfth snack of the day, so yes, I am standing in for him. Lupa just wanted to say hi is all; let you know she's doing fine with the whole spirit world thing," The wolf replied, to which his sister nodded and walked off with a smile.

"Ah! Ok. Probably not gonna see her again for a while, eh? S'ok. So what kind of totally not foreboding and not depressing speech or prophecy do I get to hear now?" Dega questioned, picking his teeth with the tip of one of his swords. "I'm dying to know. Wait, that's not offensive here, is it?"

Sashi crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side. "I agree with your sister. It's baffling how you've maintained your sense of humor throughout all this."

The tiger lion winked and flashed a toothy smile. "My soul is drowning with tears. By the way, I'm unconscious still, right? I haven't slipped into the afterlife during this whole discussion?"

"You're fine, Dega."

"Fresh."

"I'm here to give you a warning," The friend of Kiro sighed, kneeling down and moving her palm across the grass. "Things are going to get much worse before they get better, and I wish I could say that you and your aunt are going to succeed in stopping all of this, but the reality is that you're making this less worse than they'd be without your contributions."

"Cool. Nothing like being told everything you've done so war is basically worthless."

Sashi's eyes flashed upwards at the student, eyeing him warily. "I just want to make sure that you don't travel too far down the path of revenge. A little may be necessary at a time like this, but if you let hate cloud your vision, you may lose everything you hold dear."

"Gee, I was worried that I would never get any sleep at night. You really helped me there," Dega huffed, rolling his eyes. "Don't worry, Sashi. I'm not gonna join the dark side. I'm not gonna dawn some black hood and start training some apprentice to take my place. Calm down, kid."

"Just making sure," The wolf responded carefully, seemingly examining the tiger lion. "I knew your father, and I know you're so much like him. He went down a dark path in his time, and I don't want to see you make the same mistake he almost did. On a side note, you should write to Tang. He worries. Oh, and your aunt, Tigress, is coming to hunt both you and Zina down."

The son of Kiro's face softened and his jaw dropped as Sashi stood up and gave a small wave.

"Good luck. Time to wake up…right about…now."

* * *

*In the real world*

"We're doomed!" The tiger lion suddenly exclaimed, flailing his arms and falling out of the bed he was in. "OW!"

He hit the floor with a loud thud, awakening his sleeping across the room, causing her to shout in surprise and launch a throwing dagger across the room. The blade sunk into the wooden walls, causing the citizens in the next room to scream, followed by the sound of things breaking.

"Dega! What's wrong with you?" Zina hissed, sending a glare in his direction that could melt a steel beam.

"Lots of things!" The student replied, raising his pointer finger from the other side of the bed. "Where are we?"

"A hotel. I managed to bandage you up some along the way, just long enough for me to get to this place on the outskirts of the city. Fixed the rest of you back up to full health in here and have been waiting for you to wake up since."

Dega's head popped up from behind the mattress. "You know how to save lives?"

The black tiger looked off to the side. "My second mission as an assassin for Emperor Jow, your deceased grandfather, went awry. I had…a friend; my only friend in Japan…I was still a rookie in the field, and I didn't know she'd been following me on that mission, and so when I heard a sound from behind me, I turned and threw a kunai, thinking that I was being tailed by my target…After that incident, I figured I should learn how to save lives in addition to taking them—a precaution that I've never used since then until now."

"Did she survive?"

Zina's eyes flashed towards the young one with an indiscernible expression before standing up. "My past troubles won't help our situation now. Those people next door are probably going to get the authorities now. Can you move?"

The tiger lion winced as he stood up and rubbed his midsection, which now had bandages and gauze covering his stab wound. In addition to this, his right arm was completely bound in white cloth, and his nose had tape over it. Looking in the mirror across the room, the student's eyes widened.

"Uh…" He sputtered. "Why do I look like a zombie?"

"Well—"

"How am I supposed to go out while looking like this? I'll be caught for sure!" Dega exclaimed. "My modeling career is ruined!"

"Well…we can cloak you in these bed sheets. That can hide your bodily wounds and bandages, but we'll need something for your face. I think I saw a decorative mask downstairs in the lobby. You stay here and I'll go get it. We can leave after that," Zina ordered, opening the door to the room and ducking out.

The Jade Palace pupil poked his nose cautiously, repeating "ow" every time he did so, since his nose still hurt from being broken. It would take some time to heal.

A few seconds after the assassin had left the room, however, she quickly burst back into the room and shut the door, panting slightly.

"We've gotta go," She said firmly, rushing to the other side of the room and beginning to pack up her things.

"What? If there're bad guys, we can handle them!" The tiger lion cheered.

"In your condition? Hardly. I'd be on my own. And they're not bad guys, per say," The tiger growled, opening the curtains in the room slightly, allowing Dega to peer out of the square window and see tons of Imperial soldiers marching inside. "It's more like half of this city's troops coming to take us. Those people next door must've ratted us out."

"Alright…um," The son of Kiro stammered, quickly gathering his belongings as well. "How much time do we have?"

A pounding on the door stopped the assassin from giving her answer as a gruff voice penetrated through the hard wood and into the room. "Imperial guards! Open up!"

Zina's eyes narrowed as her nephew drew his naginata. "I'll let you figure that out."

 **New year, new me and all that jazz! Now that my horrid Chemistry class is done, I'd like to think things will get easier, and now that a new semester is starting, my schedule should open up. But alas, I won't make any promises. I've made so many in the past and have not been able to deliver due to time constraints and schedule issues that I've just put the kibosh on that.**

 **But lemme know what you thought of the chapter! Tried to make this one much more lighthearted and upbeat compared to the previous ones!**

 **More to come…in the new year, that is.**


	7. The Assassin's Comrade

**Me make good chapter me thinks**

*With Zina*

Zina swiftly turned to her nephew and put a finger to her lips, creeping over to the door and pressing her ear up against the frame. Honing her feline hearing, she deduced, bit by bit, what kind of situation they were in.

"One second!" She exclaimed, altering her voice so as to not give any suspicion to her identity. "I just got out of the bath! Let me get my robe!"

Moving swiftly across the room, she peered out from behind the curtain once more, recounting how many soldiers were standing guard outside. Narrowing her eyes, the assassin walked briskly over to the closet and opened to doors, taking count of what was inside and how much room there was. Hiding under the bed was not an option since the mattress was on the floor, and other than a not-so-concealing desk, there was nowhere to hide.

Another round of banging sounded at the door. "Hurry up, ma'am. We have orders to search every room. If you don't open, we're coming in!"

"Ok, Sparky, here's the deal…" Dega hissed, having already thought out his plan.

"No. Here's the deal, Dega," His aunt whispered sharply. "There are four guards out there armed with swords, spears and battle axes. The only place to hide is in the closet, and that's only able to fit a maximum of one. There are too many guards outside to escape out the window, and fighting would only result in both of us getting arrested, which means…"

Quickly Zina shoved the tiger lion into the closet and grasped the door handles.

"…That you've got to continue searching for Overlord on your own," She finished, quickly shutting the doors and making her way to the other side of the room.

"Alright, lady, we're coming in whether you're ready or not!" The rhino guard hollered.

Seeing the door knob jiggle, the former criminal took her position several feet away from the door. Getting ready to charge, she murmured her mantra that had gotten her through difficult missions in the past.

"Stay low, go fast; strike first, fall last; won't break, strong will; no luck, all skill…" Zina softly chanted, narrowing her eyes at the door.

Just out of the corner of her eye, the door to the closet began to creak open, however, the sound of the room door splintering and cracking as one of the rhino guards charged through caused the door to quickly shut once more.

As soon as the Imperial soldier burst into the room, the black tiger sprinted forward, leaping into the air and kicking the animal in the forehead, caused him to stumble and fall on his back. Sailing out the door and into the hallway, Zina planted her feet on the wall and pushed off, doing a backflip as she drew her two katanas that were strapped on her back. Sticking the landing she swung the swords out to her side, blocking one soldier with an axe and the other with a sword. Pushing the weapons away, the assassin turned and kicked the guard with the axe in the jaw, causing him to grunt. Hooking her katana underneath the crook of the axe, she flung her weapon upward, causing the rhino's weapon to fly out of his hand and into the ceiling. To finish him off, she knocked his feet out from under him and cracked him across the head with the butt of her sword, causing him to black out.

The soldier that had entered the room had recovered now, and was rushing at her with his spear along with his partner. Diving between the two, Zina grabbed the soldier with the sword's legs and pulled, causing him to fall to the ground, shaking the floor. Realizing he missed his target, the rhino with the spear turned to see Zina running across his comrade's back, dragging her katanas across the floor around him and tearing into the wood. Once she completed her quick outline of the fallen guard's figure, the floor gave way to his weight and he fell through, taking several more floors beneath him along the way. Twirling in the air, the cat landed and whirled towards the animal, hitting her weapons against his spear with a clack. Spinning in the other direction, she roundhouse kicked the stick out of his hand and sheathed her swords. Extending her claws, Zina leaped onto the ceiling, using her front paws to keep her there while her feet swung forward, nailing the rhino between the eyes. As he stumbled back, her nails in her feet planted against the ceiling and she allowed her hands to let go. Swinging herself forward, she detached herself from the wooden planks above her and soared towards the soldier. Grabbing his horn, she yanked him down to the ground, causing his jaw to smack into the floor.

Breathing a little heavily, she looked around to see two of the three guards that were at her door either unconscious or moaning in pain; the third was not to be found on this floor, considering the large hole in the ground where he had fallen through.

"FREEZE!" A voice behind her called, causing the assassin to whirl around and send three kunai sailing in the direction of the call.

Several more rhinos were at the end of the hall, clutching their weapons tightly. The one who had called out to her widened his eyes and ducked as the daggers sailed over his head and hit the wooden wall behind him. All eight of the guards rushed in her direction, however two broke away from the group and went into the room where she was staying in, no doubt to look for Dega. Trusting he'd stay in his hiding spot, Zina pivoted and sprinted away from the soldiers and down the stairs at the end of the hall.

* * *

*With the two guards*

"Look around to see if the kid is in here!" One rhino ordered, checking behind the bed. "There aren't many spots he could hide."

The other trooper opened a few drawers in hopes of finding any evidence on the two runaways, however came up short handed. Considering the room was quite scarce of any evidence, and there were no more hiding spots to be checked, that left the closet.

The two soldiers readied their weapons as they made their way towards the closet. Slowly grasping the wooden handle, one of the rhinos flung open the door, revealing an empty coatrack and a tiny shelf on the ground that held the guest's shoes. Disappointed that they found nothing, the soldier shut the door and the two left the room.

It was luck they didn't look up when they checked the closet, or else they would've found Dega perching himself against the ceiling and holding his breath.

* * *

*With Zina*

She hated rhinos. They were big, heavy, not easy to take down, and had a pungent stench that seemed to follow them wherever they went. Well, considering there were hundreds of rhinos all over this hotel, the smell was unbearable. Right now, with eight unconscious soldiers around her, she was engaged in a fist fight with who she assumed to be the captain of the guards, judging by his silver horn cover and attire.

Granted, a hand-to-hand fight with any rhino was not a smart idea, but having one with the captain of the Imperial guards in the city she was in was even worse. It wasn't that she choose this outcome, however. It was that her katanas had been broken by one soldier with a couple sai, and she had used the rest of her kunai and smoke bombs in taking out the other eleven guards she had come across. Everyone was after her right now, which although it may have sounded bad, wasn't, considering her goal was to divert them away from Dega. She wasn't planning on escaping.

Zina took a swing at her opponent, connecting with the side of his face, but doing nothing to hurt him, instead, her fist crumpled inward due to the rhino's tough bone structure and rough skin. Letting out a grunt of pain, she moved to activate a pressure point on the captain's soldier in hopes of subduing him; however, the trooper caught her arm and twisted it behind her back, using the leverage to push her into the wall.

 _This would be so much easier if any of these guys worked for Overlord. Then I could be more lethal…_ The tiger thought, struggling as she felt some metal shackles lock in around her wrists.

"We may have lost Dega, but we have this city on lockdown. Neither of you will be going anywhere out of its walls," The captain sneered, yanking her off the wall and dragging her behind him.

* * *

*With Dega*

Dropping down from the ceiling and pressing his ear to the closet door, the tiger lion listened closely before emerging from his hiding place. The halls had gone quiet, and all the commotion was now outside. Creeping over to the window, Dega peered out from behind the curtains and looked outside to see his aunt being thrown into a wooden cage. He saw the assassin look around at her surroundings before making eye contact with him. The student felt a pang of guilt when she simply sat down and crossed her legs in a lotus position, starting to meditate.

 _She diverted them away from me so I didn't get caught, but she ended up getting captured because of it,_ The son of Kiro thought.

Drawing his weapons, the student examined them closely. The red energy from his father's staffs seeped into the green power of the swords, and vice versa. They were dangerous weapons, sure, but aside from being clunky to fight with, it was too much power for anyone to handle—especially in the hands of a becoming man-child like his late father. He hadn't been able to master half of what these super weapons could do, so what could were they combined like this? As the student pursed his lips together, he couldn't help but wonder if Zina wouldn't have gotten captured if she'd had a weapon such as this. Pressing down on the handle of the swords, the student twisted them to the right and popped them out of their placeholders that he'd built onto the staffs. Sheathing the sharp weapons between his belt and his pants, the student took off the placeholders and tossed them to the side. He could do with the staffs; they'd be easier to work with. He trusted Zina enough now to give her the swords until they took down Kai.

"It's time to do something really stupid…" Dega muttered before leaping out of the window.

Tumbling down into the streets, kicking up a cloud of dust along the way, the former Jade Palace student stood up and faced the massive number of guards, which were around thirty feet away.

"Ya know…" Dega called. "Why are all of you guy's rhinos? It's not very diverse!"

"Dega Takimuro, you're under arrest for arson, assault, attempted murder and treason!" The captain of the guards thundered, stepping forward and cracking his knuckles. "I suggest you come willingly. There's no way out of the city after all."

"Dude, if I wanted to leave, I would've done it by now," The tiger lion sighed, twirling around the staffs in his hands before hitting them once and sparking them to life. "Oh, that is coooool. You see that? I saw that."

"SEIZE HIM!" The captain ordered, causing ninety percent of the soldiers to draw their weapons and charge the young pupil.

Zina, in her cage, rolled her eyes and face palmed, clearly upset that her plan to distract the guards so that Dega could get away fell through due to her nephews unpredictability.

Dega, on the other hand, wasn't worried in the slightest. He was petrified. Although his father had wielded these weapons all his life, he had never planned on passing them down to his son; because of this, Dega had never learned how to use these. Instead, the closest he got to using the weapons was through stories that Kiro had told him about his adventures when he was younger. Now if he could only remember what his father said about the different kinds of moves…

"One shot. Make it count…" He mumbled to himself, tapping the ends of the weapons together twice and slamming them into the ground.

A surge of red electricity, built up from the ends touching, shot through the earth and towards the oncoming horde of troopers. Connecting with living matter, the electricity traveled up from the ground and into the bodies of every single Imperial soldier, shocking them severely and causing them to fall to the ground unconscious.

"Yeah. Gonna have to remember that one…" Dega whispered in astonishment, walking forward towards Zina's wooden prison.

As he neared, he spotted the captain of the guards standing a few feet away, looking straight ahead at the piles of unconscious soldiers in astonishment. Turning slowly and seeing that the pupil was now right next to him, he back away slowly before running down the street in the opposite direction. Rubbing the ends of the staffs together, the tier lion created enough energy within the weapons to generate significant heat. Using this, he melted off the lock to Zina's cage and her shackles.

"You should've left. They'll be on high alert now," She stated coldly, looking down at her nephew with narrowed eyes.

"And leave you behind? Come on. I'd get lost out there on my own. I'd turn into a hermit," Dega scoffed, handing her the swords that had been attached to his side. "Here. You need these more than me. The two combined are too intense for me."

The black tiger looked at the glowing green swords in her hands before sheathing them where her katanas used to go. "You're an idiot."

The son of Kiro smirked. "I know. You're a psychopath."

"I know," His aunt replied, her features softening as a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Let's go. You can summon us a rocket cart out of the city."

* * *

*With Tang*

The adopted son of Tigress and Po sat in the palace archives, going through the motions that were portrayed on a Kung-Fu scroll that he had laid out on the table. As of late, he had been secretly reviewing more and more scrolls from Po's personal collection, and while they were extremely difficult to master, he had been making progress. With the masters gone, he and the others had to step up their training regimen in case Kai launched another assault, and words could not describe how relieved they all were when they received a message from Po that he and the others would return in a day or so. They were strong warriors themselves, but if the masters couldn't take down Kai, then they wouldn't be able to either. The best they would be able to do is fend him off as best they could before retreating.

"…and follow through," Tang huffed, jabbing his open paw outwards in a darting motion. "Now just put those sixteen steps together and I'll have gotten three of these one-hundred and eighteen scrolls down."

"You'll need to sleep less then," A voice said from his right.

The panda turned to see Takami standing in the doorway, arms crossed with a neutral expression on his face. Slowly, he walked into the room and sat down on a cushioned chair in the corner of the room.

"Please, don't let me stop you," The leader of the Hazards stated, motioning towards the Son of the Dragon Warrior.

"Should, uh…" Tang questioned, looking from the door to where his friend was sitting now. "…you be in here? Like, there's a lot of paper in here…and you control fire…so…"

"Emphasis on 'control,' Tang," Came the reply, fire dancing in the eyes of the tiger. "How're you holding up? You've been a little distant as of late."

"Well it's been a rough few days…maybe months," The panda admitted, shrugging and rolling the scroll back up. "Just trying to be the best I can be in case something happened."

"Doesn't mean you have to seclude yourself. If you want to get better at a faster pace, then spar with some of us. Dodging and countering a variety of our attacks will help us all get better—stronger, even," Takami hummed. "We could throw you in Kiba's room if you want to strengthen your sinuses."

This received a chortle from the panda.

The student pursed his lips together and headed back towards the door, turning to face Tang once more. "Summer and Musaki have left for Gongmen City to do a little searching of their own. Since they're technically not students here and they're older than us, I gave them the okay-go. We'll let the masters know when they return from their meeting with the Emperor.

Tang nodded, and seconds after, a familiar voice echoed through the halls, accompanied by the sound of running feet.

"Tang? Takami?" Arizona called out in the distance.

"In here!" The panda replied.

The student jogged in with a worried expression. "We've got an issue in the Valley."

Takami and Tang exchanged confused expressions before running out of the room and towards the palace front doors with Zona in tow. Bursting out into the courtyard, the three students made their way alongside the rest of their friends, who were standing outside the palace gates with their backs towards them.

"You just had to say you were bored, didn't you, Kiba?" Skyler huffed.

"Yeah. I don't have any regrets!" The white wolf dog exclaimed, planting his hands on his hips.

Tang and Takami took their place beside Kaizer and Kovu, looking down at the Valley below. The scene was chaotic. Screams and yells echoed from the once peaceful town as the tiny specks in the distance—the civilians—ran about. Flames and smoke streamed across rooftops. Parts of buildings were starting to crumble amongst the destruction.

"What caused this?" Tang asked.

Hope pointed towards a decimated building on the right hand side of the city. "Somebody freed every single prisoner in the jail. All the crooks we've caught in the past few years are not stampeding around down below.

"And why're we standing here?" He pressed.

"We've never gone up against something like this!" Sierra replied. "We've been assessing damaged areas, choke points, battle strategies…"

Takami elbowed the panda and raised an eyebrow. "We were appointed leaders, remember? You okay if my team takes the left half of the valley?"

The son of Po smirked and nodded. "I'll take Max, Sierra and Zona and cover the right half. Bring all the unconscious baddies to the center of town?"

The Bengal Tiger gave a thumbs up before tapping Kidduo on the shoulder and taking off with the rest of his team down the mountain.

"Sometimes I regret living in this town," Max sighed, receiving a laugh from Tang before they too sprinted down the stairs and into the fray.

 **Sorry it's taken so long to update, everyone! College it really putting the pressure on me right now, and with a brief writers block, it was hard to make progress. Here it is, though! Hope this action-packed chapter made up for my absence!**

 **Leave a review! Or don't! It's your choice!**

 **More to come…**


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